The World's Billionaires

Forbes' 16th annual ranking of the world's billionaires is a tad more exclusive this year. We tracked 497 billionaires, down from 538 last year. That includes 28 newcomers and 12 returnees. But for every billionaire who joined or returned to our roster, two others departed. Of the ones who made the list's final cut, 50% saw their net worth fall, 23% saw it rise and 19% held steady. The billionaires' average net worth dipped from $3.2 billion to $3.1 billion.

Great Walls of FireLea Goldman Gil Shwed--the Bill Gates of Israel--Made his fortune trading on corporate paranoia. Now he's targeting the home front.

From Comrade To CapitalistPaul Klebnikov Mikhail Khodorkovsky's journey from Communist Youth League member to Russia's richest man.

Dial 'D' For DummiesMatthew Swibel How a Turkish family left Motorola and Nokia holding a $2.7 billion bag.

A Billionaire Is Not A Billionaire Nathan Vardi Forbes counts the wealth of the überclass in American currency. But U.S. dollar denominated wealth goes farther in Tehran than Tokyo.

Sins Of The Father? Nathan Vardi Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi billionaire, spent the 1990s engaged in financial folly and funding what the U.S. government calls a front for Al-Qaeda. Now a new generation tries to escape the shadow.